title: Significance of age-specific creatinine levels at presentation in posterior urethral valve patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Determination of prognostic factors is of great importance in decision making on therapies and informing parents about the probable outcome of disease. The present study aims to evaluate and assess the prognostic factors in posterior urethral valve (PUV) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data of 68 patients treated between 1996 and 2004 were evaluated retrospectively. The mean age at diagnosis was 36.4 months. The serum creatinine levels were standardized using the age-specific creatinine reference (ASCR) levels. The age at diagnosis, clinical presentation, initial serum creatinine, method of treatment, presence of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and hydroureteronephrosis (HUN), all of which may effect the prognosis, were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analysis revealed that, of the 36 patients whose initial serum creatinine levels were within ASCR, only one (2.8%) had a final serum creatinine higher than ASCR values. In contrast, of the 32 patients whose initial serum creatinine levels were not within ASCR, 19 (59.4%) had final serum creatinine levels higher than ASCR (P<0.001). The distribution of final serum creatinine according to treatment method, presence of UTI before treatment and age at diagnosis was not statistically significant; however, the difference in distribution for initial serum creatinine (P<0.001), mode of clinical presentation (0.016), presence of HUN (0.019) and state of VUR (0.037) before treatment was statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Final outcome with regard to renal function in PUV patients is affected by bilateral VUR and most significantly by serum creatinine levels higher than ASCR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Sihhiye, Ankara 06100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bulent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Akdogan
authors.forename: Hasan Serkan
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Dogan
authors.forename: Selcuk
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keskin
authors.forename: Berk
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Burgu
authors.forename: Serdar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tekgul